India plans 26 GW of solar capacity in agricultural sector by 2022
Around 1.75 million off-grid solar pumps shall be set up while 1 million operational grid-connected irrigation pumps shall be fitted with solar panels.
South Asia
South Asia spans countries including India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and their neighbors. This archive gathers progress stories from the region — covering public health, education, climate adaptation, economic inclusion, and more.
In a world-first, India’s dozen major ports now run fully on renewable energy
The dozen state-owned major ports in the country have switched to renewable energy to meet their entire power requirements, making India the first nation to have all government-owned ports running on solar and wind energy.
Landmark ruling grants women equal rights in Indian army
The judgment, seen as a landmark decision for the Indian military, means that all women will now be eligible for the same promotions, ranks, benefits and pensions as their male counterparts, irrespective of their years of service or whether they had retired.
India’s gigantic Bhadla Solar Park sets new world record
The 2.2GW park is almost 50% more than all the solar installations that the US’ largest residential solar installer has completed. It’s also about 50% larger than the world’s previous largest solar farm. It is just one small part of India’s ambitious plan to install 100GW of solar by 2022.
Indian Railways records zero deaths in 2019 for the first year ever
While between 1990-1995 an average of more than 500 accidents took place every year, a decade later between 2013-2018 only an average of around 110 accidents took place every year.
Pakistan saw 31% reduction in terrorism in 2019
In its annual report, the Center for Research and Security Studies said that a 30.71 per cent drop in fatalities was observed in 2019, down from 980 last year to 679 this year.
Kerala, India to provide free high-speed internet to over 2 million poor families
The project aims to provide free high-speed internet to over 22 million below poverty line households by 2020.
India cancels plans for huge coal power stations as solar energy prices hit record low
India has cancelled plans to build nearly 14 gigawatts of coal-fired power stations – about the same as the total amount in the U.K. – with the price for solar electricity “free falling” to levels once considered impossible.
India replaces ten million conventional streetlights with ‘energy-efficient’ LEDs
These LED streetlights have helped the country to reduce its greenhouse gas emission by 4.63 million tonnes annually.
Air pollution in Delhi drops 25% in four years
Five years ago, in 2014, a global study on air quality trends by the World Health Organisation had declared Delhi the most polluted city in the world.